Before I applied to the Penguin Random House Internship Priority Application through Sigma Tau Delta in, I had been applying to publishing internships for three years, but I had yet to gain any experience in the field. When I was inducted into Sigma Tau Delta at the end of my junior year of college, I was excited to learn about the Priority Application opportunity. I was fortunate enough to be chosen as a priority candidate and to receive an interview. After two rounds of interviews, I was offered an internship with the Marketing and Publicity teams at Penguin Press. Over the course of my 10 week summer internship, I was finally able to explore an industry I was passionate about. I experienced personal and professional growth, and my summer with Penguin Press built my confidence to pursue a career in publishing.
As a Marketing and Publicity intern, I did a lot of research. I was often tasked with finding contact information to create outreach lists, or researching influencers, nonprofits, or other types of organizations who might be interested in various publications. One of my favorite publicity projects was writing a pitch letter. I was asked to read the manuscript for a literary fiction novel set to be published next spring and write a pitch letter that would get media contacts excited about our book. It was a fun challenge for me to read the book from a publicity perspective, identify the key selling points, and think about who the core audience might be. On the marketing side, I completed a similar project for a nonfiction book that was published in June. I was tasked with finding influencers and content creators who might be interested in receiving a free copy and promoting the book on their social media accounts. I had to research these accounts, write a short pitch message, and send it out. I was surprised when I got a couple of responses! It was so cool to curate this list and hear back from the people that I had chosen who were excited about the book.
Although the internship was remote, the internship coordinators planned events throughout the summer to help us stay connected with each other and learn more about the publishing industry. We participated in intern mixers, Intro to Industry Panels, and a Q&A with a Penguin Random House Recruiter. One of the perks of a remote internship is that you can work from anywhere. I was visiting family in DC when I decided to take the train to New York and work at the Penguin Random House office for a day. It was awesome getting to meet everyone from the marketing and publicity teams and see what it was like to work with them in-person. I went out for coffee chats with my colleagues and we talked about their experiences working in hybrid positions and living in New York.
During the first week of the internship, I was unsure about whether or not I would fit in at Penguin Press. As the weeks went on, I met so many amazing people from different teams who shared their journeys with me and made me feel welcome. This turned out to be one of my favorite parts of the internship—engaging with other interns and professionals from departments outside of mine, such as Design, Sales, Editorial, Managing Editorial, and the Speaker’s Bureau. Everyone I had the pleasure of speaking to helped me gain an idea of what it is like to work in publishing and how they’ve grown at each stage of their career.
Participating in the Penguin Random House Internship Program allowed me to make valuable connections and refine my career goals. I would like to continue building my skills as I search for full-time roles in publishing. I am grateful for the financial and professional support I received throughout the application process and the internship. I plan to use the stipend I received to help fund the relocation process for my future position. Working with Penguin Press this summer was the perfect way to transition from life as an undergrad to the post-grad world. My internship has taught me things I know I will carry with me for the rest of my career.
Erin Grier
Penguin Random House Internship Recipient, Summer 2024
Omega Xi Chapter
Spelman College, Atlanta, GA
Penguin Random House Internship: Priority Selection Application
The Penguin Random House internship program offers candidates the opportunity to work in the Penguin Random House Adult & Children’s divisions, attend weekly professional development programming, and learn about the world of publishing. This program is intended to provide opportunities for racially/ethnically underrepresented groups in the publishing industry. Active chapter members interested in learning about the world of marketing in book publishing are encouraged to apply. No prior publishing experience is required.
Interns will work remote for 21 hours per week at a pay rate of $20/hr. Intern schedules will be flexible to account for candidates who may be located in a variety of time zones. PRH offers internships in such areas as Editorial, Marketing, Publicity, Sales, Art/Design, Legal, Book Making, Finance, and Subrights. Internship offerings vary from cycle to cycle and will be announced by PRH when they open their application portal.
Eligibility
Applicants for Priority Consideration for a Penguin Random House Internship must be:
- an active student member of Sigma Tau Delta;
- pursuing an undergraduate (junior or senior) or graduate degree;
- enrolled part- or full-time in a degree-seeking program;
- enrolled at a school within the United States (includes DC); and
- legally authorized to work in the United States.
Application Dates
Applications for the 2025 Fall/2026 Spring Penguin Random House Internship Priority Consideration will be accepted on the AwardSpring platform January 13 through February 3, 2025.
The fall/spring internship is a single internship opportunity offered to an individual student who will work ten weeks in the fall and then an additional ten weeks in the spring. Internship dates will be announced by PRH when they open their application portal.
Applicants must apply for Sigma Tau Delta priority consideration via the Sigma Tau Delta AwardSpring platform AND apply for the actual internship directly through the Penguin Random House Application Portal.
Past Penguin Internship Recipient Blogs
Delving into Publishing with Penguin Random House
My Summer with Penguin Random House
The Summer I Turned Into a Penguin: My Surreal Time as Penguin Young Readers Intern
Exploring the World of Children’s Publishing with a PRH Internship
Hidden Heroes: Working as a Production Editorial Intern at Penguin Random House
Interning at Penguin Random House through Sigma Tau Delta
An Internship Like No Other: Perseverance and Publishing at PRH
Putting the Puzzle Pieces Together: My PRH Internship
The One Where I Remotely Interned at Penguin Random House
Overcoming Imposter Syndrome to Apply for a PRH Internship
Saying ‘Why Not’ to a Career at Penguin Random House
Publishing in the Time of Covid: My Virtual Internship at PRH
Not So Random Memories from My PRH Internship
Making Protagonist Choices: My Internship at PRH
Perfect is Penguin: My Internship at Penguin Random House
My 140 Hours Interning at PRH’s Razorbill
How an Internship Shaped my Career
Spending Summer in an Igloo: My Editorial Internship with Penguin Random House
Interning at Penguin: Life of a Book Nerd
The Halfway Point: Penguin Group (USA) Summer Internship
More from Footnotes: December 3, 2024
Holiday Closure
Lambda Literary Program Internship
Sigma Tau Delta Journal Internship
Summer Program Scholarship
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